Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 210 - 208: Around the Hearth

In mid-November, Sienna Thornton took three days off with Steven Chapman.

Steven Chapman asked her what she was taking time off for, and she said she planned to go to Azure Harbor to buy some winter clothes. Steven readily approved her leave, joking that since she’d received a big bonus, she should go on a shopping spree.

To avoid arousing suspicion from Bianca Fordham and the others, Sienna went to Azure Harbor by herself this time, while Simon Forrester stayed in Brimfield, even deliberately appearing at The Forresters a few times during those days.

This trip to Azure Harbor, Sienna was mainly there to connect with the third-party institutions conducting due diligence and to meet with her mentor, Barrister Holloway, to discuss the appointment of lawyers and accountants from her firm to Forrester Group for due diligence matters.

Once the third-party team was confirmed, Sienna immediately rushed back to Brimfield and handed the due diligence team’s information to Old Master Forrester.

At the end of November, Old Master Forrester’s team reviewed and approved the qualifications of the due diligence team. At the board meeting, Old Master Forrester announced that Forrester Group had an initial plan for a certain proportion of equity swap with a domestic industrial group. On December 1st, the due diligence team officially joined Forrester Group for a six-week investigation period.

This move was met with strong opposition from Bianca Fordham and others. Finally, the board voted and passed the equity swap and due diligence decision by a margin of six to two.

At the same time, Sienna Thornton submitted her resignation to Steven Chapman, who, busy with due diligence matters, or perhaps indifferent to her departure, quickly reported it to Zane Forrester, who promptly approved it. Thus, on the last day of November, Sienna Thornton left Forrester Group with Rochelle Linwood.

That evening, Thomas Reed called Sienna Thornton, asking if she knew the reason behind the due diligence. Sienna pretended to ask Simon Forrester next to her before passing on to Thomas that both she and Simon were not clear and that she had already resigned, intending to establish an ordinary partnership firm.

Thomas had no doubts and advised Sienna to seek him out anytime if she encountered any difficulties while setting up the firm.

On December 1st, the due diligence team moved into Forrester Group, and Sienna Thornton and Rochelle Linwood relocated to a conference room at a five-star hotel near Forrester Group.

The investigation team stayed at this hotel, using the conference room for long-term rental as Sienna Thornton and the investigation team’s temporary office outside Forrester Group.

The investigation team would gather information at Forrester Group during the day, and after leaving Forrester Group in the evening, they would immediately head to the hotel’s conference room to report the day’s findings to Sienna and prepare the daily investigation report.

Their meetings often ran late into the night, so Sienna booked a room at the hotel and had Simon stay with her.

During that period, Simon, due to frequently attending meetings with Sienna, gradually came to understand many of the current operational issues within Forrester Group. Just as Sienna had mentioned, the high-priced purchase of raw materials was merely the tip of the iceberg; as the investigation team delved deeper, more and more operational loopholes began to surface.

Since Zane Forrester had been abroad for many years, and given that Bianca Fordham, with a background in finance, had taken control of the entire finance department, including its internal audit division, she first squeezed out the original deputy legal counsel, then colluded with Steven Chapman and the supervisory board to carry out a series of fraudulent activities, intending to hollow out Forrester Group.

After reading the investigation report, Simon Forrester was stunned for half the day; he had never realized one could be so greedy.

In mid-January, Old Master Forrester received the investigation report and, in a fit of rage, dismissed Steven Chapman and his accomplices, removing all of Bianca Fordham’s positions within the group. After a board vote, Forrester Group decided to hire a professional management team, which officially joined The Forresters on February 1st after the New Year.

Bianca Fordham that night went to the Forrester Family’s old residence, accusing Old Master Forrester of being too cruel and ruthless to his only daughter. Old Master Forrester asked Thomas Reed in her presence, for a case involving tens of billions in occupational embezzlement, how many years the sentence would be.

Thomas Reed said nothing, quietly taking Bianca Fordham away.

In just over three months, Forrester Group underwent a major overhaul. Sienna Thornton and Old Master Forrester paved the way for Simon Forrester to smoothly take over Forrester Group in the future.

-

This year’s Spring Festival came early, with New Year’s Eve falling on January 24th. Sienna Thornton planned to take Melinda Linton and Jenna Raines back to her hometown for the holiday on the 28th.

The design firm wrapped up all projects before the end of the year, officially starting the Spring Festival holiday on January 24th. During the two-day holiday, Sienna Thornton and Simon Forrester conducted a thorough cleanup at home, dividing the tasks and spending two days cleaning the apartment spotless and putting up festive couplets.

With the couplets in place, the two went down to the fresh food supermarket to buy ingredients, which they then washed and arranged, before taking a bath in the tub and changing into soft, clean loungewear, to gather around the stove in advance.

They used a dual hot pot, one side spicy, the other clear broth, with vegetables, fresh seafood, mutton, and beef filling the table.

Sienna put mutton into the spicy pot and saw Simon nibbling on corn like a monk. She teased, "Aren’t you worried about your legs getting weak from eating just vegetables every day?"

Simon glanced up at her, threw in a bunch of leeks and two big prawns into the pot, and replied, "Is this some subtle protest you’re making against me?"

"Huh?" Sienna caught on, tossed some beef into his pot, and remarked, "I think your taste is more feminine, while mine is masculine."

Simon scooped two corns in her plate, pretending to chide, "When the New Year comes, I’ll really need to control your diet. Eating all this rich food every day is no good — you’ll have problems with high blood pressure, gout in the future."

"Don’t let how much I eat fool you; it’s all gone by the next morning," Sienna moved the corn aside and got another plate for the meat, "I’m not the type that easily absorbs nutrients; haven’t you noticed how skinny I am?"

As she said this, Simon’s gaze shifted to a certain spot, "Today you don’t look skinny."

Following his gaze, Sienna looked down, blushing after a moment, whispering, "It’s because this outfit is tight!"

"Really?" Simon clearly didn’t believe and added more vegetables to her plate, smiling, "Alright, alright, you talk so much even when complimented. Come on, eat more vegetables."

"Then you eat more meat."

"Alright," Simon dipped a piece of mutton in sauce and casually asked, "What are you planning to do tomorrow?"

Sienna replied, swallowing the meatball in her mouth, "Tomorrow I’m going to buy some New Year goods to take back home."

"I’ll go with you."

As they spoke, Simon’s gaze passed over Sienna’s shoulder, looking at the two unevenly cut "Fu" characters on the floor-to-ceiling window behind her. He felt a warmth, remarking, "Having one more person indeed livens things up a lot; I really wonder how lively it will be with kids in the future."